Disasters and near disasters seem to always happen at the worst times and for that reason, I thought I would share some quick fixes for occasions such as these. Your second valve will not go down Have you ever had this happen? The count off begins “ONE, TWO, ONE TWO THREE FOUR”. And you discover your second valve won’t go down! It has happened to me and it is not a pretty sight. After the panic has subsided, you look down the page to see when you can rest and get it working again. Panic again! You have no rests…

Developing the physical side of trumpet playing – As I stated before in the previous entry, you don’t have to be a gorilla to play trumpet. Super human strength is not required to perform well. All that is required is regular practice with a balance of exercises to reach your goal. I have indicated the physical areas where attention should be placed and have also made some suggestions as to what exercises would be beneficial to you as a trumpet player. Finger or valve development It is amazing how limber and agile your first and second fingers can be and…

Trumpet playing centers around two important areas that will determine your success or failure. The first is the physical and the second is the mental side. On this page I will be discussing the “Understanding” issues in both and in subsequent postings I will cover the “Developing” issue with specific suggestions. The reasons the physical side of trumpet playing is addressed more often than the mental issues can be argued for ever. We many times feel that if we just practice this exercise or use that trumpet we will be a successful and famous trumpet player. It is true that…

In order for the wedding planner, bride, mother of the bride and/or musicians to save time, important terms and their definitions which will be used are listed below and should be helpful to lessen the potential of any misunderstanding. Terms used when discussing music concerns for a wedding- Music- Any compositions played by an instrument or sung by a voice. Song- Any musical composition with words and performed with the voice. Prelude music- Music to entertain guests as they enter hall and find their seats. Processional music-  Music performed to indicate the entrance of important people and the wedding party.…

Almost very trumpet player has a favorite warm-up routine that works best for his/her needs. Some believe long tones are best. Some believe short flexibility exercises are the only way for them. In my case, I feel that the same routine every day can be tiring and unproductive. For that reason I have been alternation between two warm-ups and will continue with this practice until I find something better. One of my favorite warm-ups can be found on Jay Lichtmanns’ web site. After reaching his site, click on the heading Brass Music Downloads. Next, enter the heading called Trumpet Studies.…

I will begin by saying that this information is about the practice and philosophy of warming up, not the actual material used which will be included in a later section covering music to practice. I will discuss the benefits as well as the techniques used to get the trumpet player ready for his/her daily practice period. Even though there might be a few players out there that do nothing to warm up before serious playing, they are far in the minority. It could be that the ones who practiced this life style eventually decided to quit trumpet playing. For the…

My response to the discussion posted on TPIN There seems to be a flurry of excitement on the TPIN site about the comfort of your lip or the “rest as much as you play” discussion, and for that reason, I would like to add to the discussion. Everyone would like their embouchure (chops) to feel good all the time but unfortunately this is not always possible. Sometimes we have unrealistic deadlines (the 3:00 call to sub for a friend at the local club that night) or (the gig you thought was next week) or (the dance band you agreed to…